Composition and variations of the fish assemblage of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, seagrass meadows in Annaba bay (Algeria)

During an annual cycle (July 2004 - June 2005), two coastal sites, one far away from anthropic action (site A : Aïn Achir) and the other subjected to immediate discharge of waste water (site B : la Caroube), were sampled during the day (8 h -18 h) and by night (19 h - 7 h), with a net (50 m long, 2 m high) located at a depth of -5 m. According to the frequency of fish species captured, their ecological status was determined. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H’) was calculated to better understand the structure and organization of fish assemblages in both sites. In site A, 19 species belonging to 8 families were fished during the day. At night, the fish assemblage was represented by 15 species and 9 families. The family Sparidae was the most diversified, followed by Labridae and Serranidae. Labridae were the most numerous family by day and by night. Numbers of species and individuals collected in site B during the day (16) as well as by night (11) were significantly lower than those of site A. During daytime, diversity (H’) and equitability (R) indices were respectively 2.51 and 0.33 in site A and of 2.87 and 0.43 in site B. At night, diversity index was lower (site A : 0.64 and site B : 2.55) and equitability was close to 0.41 in the two sitesAu cours d'un cycle annuel (juillet 2004 - juin 2005), deux sites côtiers, l'un éloigné de l'action anthropique (site A: Aïn-Achir) et l'autre recevant les rejets directs des eaux usées de la ville d'Annaba (site B: la Caroube), ont été échantillonnés de jour et de nuit à l'aide d'un filet trémail. En fonction de sa fréquence, le statut écologique de chaque espèce a été déterminé. L'indice de diversité biologique de Shannon-Weaver (H') a été calculé pour mieux comprendre la structure et l'organisation du peuplement de poissons dans les deux sites. Dans le site A, 19 espèces appartenant à 8 familles ont été pêchées de jour. La nuit, le peuplement ichtyologique est représenté par 15 espèces et 9 familles. La famille des Sparidés est la plus diversifiée, suivie de celle des Labridés et des Serranidés. Les Labridés sont les mieux représentés numériquement, aussi bien de jour que de nuit. Dans le site B, les nombres d'espèces et d'individus capturés, aussi bien de jour (16 espèces) que de nuit (11 espèces), sont nettement inférieurs à ceux obtenus dans le site A. De jour, les indices de diversité (H') et d'équitabilité (R) sont respectivement de 2,51 et de 0,33 dans le site A et de 2,87 et de 0,43 dans le site B. La nuit, l'indice de diversité est plus faible (site A: 0,64 ; site B: 2,55) et l'équitabilité est proche de 0,41 dans les deux sites

Speed breeding for multiple quantitative traits in durum wheat

Plant breeding requires numerous generations to be cycled and evaluated before an improved cultivar is released. This lengthy process is required to introduce and test multiple traits of interest. However, a technology for rapid generation advance named 'speed breeding' was successfully deployed in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to achieve six generations per year while imposing phenotypic selection for foliar disease resistance and grain dormancy. Here, for the first time the deployment of this methodology is presented in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) by integrating selection for key traits, including above and below ground traits on the same set of plants. This involved phenotyping for seminal root angle (RA), seminal root number (RN), tolerance to crown rot (CR), resistance to leaf rust (LR) and plant height (PH). In durum wheat, these traits are desirable in environments where yield is limited by in-season rainfall with the occurrence of CR and epidemics of LR. To evaluate this multi-trait screening approach, we applied selection to a large segregating F2 population (n = 1000) derived from a bi-parental cross (Outrob4/Caparoi). A weighted selection index (SI) was developed and applied. The gain for each trait was determined by evaluating F3 progeny derived from 100 'selected' and 100 'unselected' F2 individuals.Transgressive segregation was observed for all assayed traits in the Outrob4/Caparoi F2 population. Application of the SI successfully shifted the population mean for four traits, as determined by a significant mean difference between 'selected' and 'unselected' F3 families for CR tolerance, LR resistance, RA and RN. No significant shift for PH was observed.The novel multi-trait phenotyping method presents a useful tool for rapid selection of early filial generations or for the characterization of fixed lines out-of-season. Further, it offers efficient use of resources by assaying multiple traits on the same set of plants. Results suggest that when performed in parallel with speed breeding in early generations, selection will enrich recombinant inbred lines with desirable alleles and will reduce the length and number of years required to combine these traits in elite breeding populations and therefore cultivars.Samir Alahmad, Eric Dinglasan, Kung Ming Leung, Adnan Riaz, Nora Derbal, Kai P. Voss-Fels, Jason A. Able, Filippo M. Bassi, Jack Christopher and Lee T. Hicke

Towards a greater dialogue on disability between Muslims and Christians

Attitudes to disability and disabled people by Muslims – focusing on attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa - and Christians – focusing on the West (here taken to mean Europe, North America and Australasia) - were examined through a grounded theory literature search, with the study being divided into three phases of reading and analysis. The aims of study were to develop a dialogue on disability between the two cultures, to inform an understanding of the attitudes to disability in the two cultures, and to inform cultural practice in promoting support and equality in both cultures. The study finds that Islam and Christianity have much in common and are a force for good in promoting and developing disability equality in both Muslim and Christian cultures

Artificial neural network (ANN) approach for modelling of pile settlement of open-ended steel piles subjected to compression load

This study was devoted to examine pile bearing capacity and to provide a reliable model to simulate pile load-settlement behaviour using a new artificial neural network (ANN) method. To achieve the planned aim, experimental pile load test were carried out on model open-ended steel piles, with pile aspect ratios of 12, 17, and 25. An optimised second-order Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) training algorithm has been used in this process. The piles were driven in three sand densities; dense, medium, and loose. A statistical analysis test was conducted to explore the relative importance and the statistical contribution (Beta and Sig) values of the independent variables on the model output. Pile effective length, pile flexural rigidity, applied load, sand-pile friction angle and pile aspect ratio have been identified to be the most effective parameters on model output. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, a graphical comparison was performed between the implemented algorithm and the most conventional pile capacity design approaches. The proficiency metric indicators demonstrated an outstanding agreement between the measured and predicted pile-load settlement, thus yielding a correlation coefficient (R) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.99, 0.043 respectively, with a relatively insignificant mean square error level (MSE) of 0.0019. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Otolithometry and scalimetry—two valid methods to describe the growth of peacock wrasse, Symphodus tinca (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Labridae) from eastern Algeria

Background. The peacock wrasse, Symphodus tinca (Linnaeus, 1758), is a common Mediterranean fish and the most abundant labrid species on the eastern coast of Algeria. Its age and growth, however, have been poorly studied. Such data are essential for proper fisheries management. The aim of this study is to provide information on the age and growth of this wrasse species from the eastern Algeria based on two different methods of fish age determination. Materials and methods. Age and growth of Symphodus tinca were determined by examining otoliths and scales of the fish sampled between January and December 2011 on the eastern coast of Algeria. Otoliths and scales from 515 and 469 specimens, respectively, were used to determine the age using commonly accepted procedures. Results. The age was successfully determined in 513 (99.61%) otoliths (277 females, 209 males) and in 428 (91.25%) scales (232 females, 173 males), representing age classes between 0+ and 5+ years (1+–3+ years for females and 1+–5+ years for males). The validity of the otolith and scale readings for estimating age and growth was supported by the back-calculation method. The success rate in reading otoliths and scales of Symphodus tinca was very high. The growth pattern is well described by the von Bertalanffy growth equation: from otoliths, L∞ = 26.46 cm, k = 0.79, t0 = –0.12 for females and L∞ = 32.32 cm, k = 0.54, t0 = –0.22 for males; from scales, L∞ = 26.61 cm, k = 0.61, t0 = –0.45 for females and L∞ = 32.50 cm, k = 0.48, t0 = –0.31 for males. Otolithometry and scalimetry gave very close results. The total lengths (TL) ranged from 4.9 to 31.3 cm, and eviscerated weight (We) from 1.38 to 400.65 g. The length–weight relation showed an isometric growth for females (b = 3.01), and negative allometric growth for males (b = 2.86). Conclusion. The age was estimated by otolith and scale reading for males and females where the two methods yielded the similar results. Although the otolith readings presented a better fit (99.61%), scales could also be used with fairly good results (91.25%). In the future, research on the growth of S. tinca either of these two methods can be used to save time. The scale method, however, is certainly the easiest

Use of acorn leaves as a natural coagulant in a drinking water treatment plant

In this study, the use of acorn leaves as a natural coagulant to reduce raw water turbidity and globally improve drinking water quality was investigated. The raw water was collected from a drinking water treatment plant located in Mila (Algeria) with an initial turbidity of 13.0 ± 0.1 NTU. To obtain acorn leaf powder as a coagulant, the acorn leaves were previously cleaned, washed with tap water, dried, ground and then finely sieved. To improve the coagulant activity and, consequently, the turbidity removal efficiency, the fine powder was also preliminarily treated with different solvents, as follows, in order to extract the coagulant agent: (i) distilled water; (ii) solutions of NaCl (0.25; 0.5 and 1 M); (iii) solutions of NaOH (0.025; 0.05 and 0.1 M); and (iv) solutions of HCl (0.025; 0.05 and 0.1 M). Standard Jar Test assays were conducted to evaluate the performance of the coagulant in the different considered operational conditions. Results of the study indicated that at low turbidity (e.g., 13.0 ± 0.1 NTU), the raw acorn leaf powder and those treated with distilled water (DW) were able to decrease the turbidity to 3.69 ± 0.06 and 1.97 ± 0.03 NTU, respectively. The use of sodium chloride solution (AC-NaCl) at 0.5 M resulted in a high turbidity removal efficiency (91.07%) compared to solutions with different concentrations (0.25 and 1 M). Concerning solutions of sodium hydroxide (AC-NaOH) and hydrogen chloride (AC-HCl), the lowest final turbidities of 1.83 ± 0.13 and 0.92 ± 0.02 NTU were obtained when the concentrations of the solutions were set at 0.05 and 0.1 M, respectively. Finally, in this study, other water quality parameters, such as total alkalinity hardness, pH, electrical conductivity and organic matters content, were measured to assess the coagulant performance on drinking water treatment